Homebuyers Spoofing Scam

Spoofing scams use mimicked accounts to pass themselves off as legitimate companies while stealing your funds, your identity, or both.

Who Is It Targeting: Recent homebuyers

What Is It: A spoofed email that informs the recipient to deposit funds in a different account

What Are They After: A recent report of a scam that cost the victims well over $100,000 was linked to a fake email that was very professional and accurate in its wording.

The scammer located the filing information for a young couple who’d signed the paperwork to close on a new house. He then emailed their attorney, claiming to be from the title company, and gave him new account numbers to deposit the couple’s down payment on the house. The attorney complied, and the couple’s money was stolen.

How Can You Avoid It:

If you’re directed by email to change account numbers, get verbal confirmation before doing so.

The same is true of releasing sensitive documents or information.

If the email appears to come from your manager, your boss, or someone higher up within your company, still get verbal confirmation before following through.

If you think you may be a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at (888) 400-5530. Find more information about current scams and alerts here.